March, 1^)'' 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



205 



ny in two eight-frame stories ought to do 

 work in section-supers. 



6. It might do in the shallow supers. In 

 the loAver story there would certainly be 

 pollen. 



7. You will get section-work either way, 

 but generally more with the one story. 



8. All right. 



9. It is not absolutely necessary to reduce 

 to one story, but it is generally better. At 

 least one bait section is always given in the 

 first super, no matter wliat plan is used. 



10. Cut out the cell with the small blade 

 of a pocket-knife, and fasten it upon the 

 comb with a staple, as shown in Fig. 85 in 

 "Fifty Years." 



11. No nucleus nor nursery is needed to 

 produce the cells; but after they are produc- 

 ed they may be used in a nucleus, a nursery, 

 or a full colony. 



12. Referring to the book you will see 

 that I say, "put B on a new stand." That 

 may be any place you like — of course, not in 

 the place of any other colony. C and D are 

 treated the same way. 



J. C. H., Lowell, O. — 1. Last season I gave my 

 bees foundation with splints, also with wire ; these 

 they soon s:nawed along each side of wire or splints 

 and caused the combs to go to pieces when filled 

 with honey. The bees then rebuilt the comb their 

 ovm way which consisted mostly of drone-cells. 

 This year I gave some medium brood foundation 

 without wire or splints which in some cases collapsed 

 from weisht of honey. What is the trouble? 



2. Should I when trying to save a valuable queen 

 by caging give her some candy or will bees feed her 

 thru wire in cage ? 



3. Should a queen-cell in a wire-cloth cage be 

 provisioned with candy? Some of my virgins which 

 had none died when only a few hours old. 



Dr. Miller replies: 



1. It is uncertain just what the trouble 

 was, but the likelihood is that at the time 

 the foundation was given there was little 

 or no honey coming in. At such times bees 

 are likely to gnaw foundation, and it should 

 always iDe given when a good flow is on. 

 Another possibility is that the wires or 

 splints were not well embedded in the foun- 

 dation. Splints, previously to being used, 

 should be saturated with hot wax. 



2. No need of candy if she is caged 

 among her own bees. If caged among 

 strange bees, they sometimes fail to feed 

 her; so it is better to have candy in the 

 cage. 



3. It depends on conditions whether a 

 virgin will be fed by the bees and it is safest 

 to have her cage candied. 



E. P. W., Chadron, Neb. — If a colony comes thru 

 the winter with a fair supply of honey, enough to 

 last until the first honey-flow, do you recommend 

 stimulative feeding for brood-rearing? If so, what 

 kind of syrup and how much ? 



A. For stimulating brood-rearing, half 

 a pint of syrup a day is enough ; made by 

 mixing one part of sugar to two parts of 

 water. However, if a colony has stores 

 enough to last until the main honey-flow, 



so that the bees do not have to feel scrimp- 

 ed, we do not recommend feeding. Better 

 let well enough alone; and we believe that 

 in the majority of cases the colonies are 

 in better condition if enough stores can be 

 provided in the fall to last until the next 

 honey-flow the following spring. This plan 

 saves a lot of expensive work besides. 



A. R. D., Texas. — Do brood-combs ever get too old 

 to use again? We are told that the cocoons in the_ 

 cells in such combs become so small that bees will not 

 raise their young in them because of their smaller 

 size. 



A. As long as combs are regular, are not 

 disfigured, and are all worker, they can be 

 used indefinitely. When the cocoons accu- 

 mulate, the bees remove the excess of them, 

 keeping the size of the cells always large 

 enough for the rearing of brood. Old combs 

 are usually preferable for extracting as com- 

 pared with new ones. While the honey may 

 be a little darker at times in the old combs, 

 it is seldom there is any trouble of that kind. 

 As a general rule, we may say that old combs 

 are the beekeeper 's best stock in trade. 



B. F. M., Kearney, Mo. — I have been operating 

 my bees without smoke as much as possible, but I 

 find I need it occasionally. When I use smoke it 

 stirs the bees up badly. What is the trouble? 

 Do I use enough smoke ? In fact, what is the best 

 way to open a hive so the bees will cluster ? I 

 cleared $8.00 per colony with an increase of 50 

 per cent last year. 



A. The matter of using smoke is one 

 concerning which no definite rule can be 

 given, for no two colonies are exactly alike 

 in this respect. Occasionally bees can be 

 handled better without smoke. In general 

 it is a good plan to make a practice of using 

 a little smoke just before the bees begin to 

 crawl up between the top-bars, in order to 

 avoid letting an angry bee fly out at you. If 

 one bee starts, others are likely to follow, 

 and it is far better to prevent these angry 

 bees from getting stirred up than it is to 

 conquer them after they try to sting. 



H. W., Spring Mills, Va. — In moving an apiary 

 about fifty yards, at this season of the year, would 

 there be any danger of the bees ever going back to 

 the old stand? , 



A. After settled cold weather comes 

 when there are no warm days or fly days 

 you can move bees a short distance in the 

 beeyard without very much trouble, altho 

 if you should have a warm day within two 

 or three weeks after moving the bees there 

 might some of them go back to the old 

 stand. You would need to look carefully 

 to this at the time the bees are flying; and 

 if so, pick them up in a bunch and carry 

 them back to the new stands. 



D. B. C, Illinois. — What is the white substance 

 on top of extracted honey that has been heated? 



A. It is a sort of foam, consisting of 

 minute bubbles containing either air or 

 gases, sometimes seen on top of honey in a 

 sealed bottle. 



